Madelaine <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:Bernard said:As triathlete I swim in and outside.
I try to swim a full1/2 hour a day crawl as training.
When I am swimming inside in the 25m pool I am tired to death every time.
I tought it was of the intensity of the workout.
Today I swimmed only 10 minutes at noon and I have the same problem: whole
afternoon serious fatigue.
Is it maybe because of the chloor in the air at the pool???
When I am swimming outside in summer then I have the feeling that I am not
that fatigued and soor.
Please advice,
<snip>
This is a post asking a very similar question to one that appeared in
alt.med .allergy on 25th April 2005 by Michele S
([email hidden]) , see
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.med.allergy/msg/71576d1076e9b16b
Quoted message said:Hi everybody, > > >
I am really wanting to get back to swimming again, which is an
activity I enjoyed very much while younger, and which is a good one
for me at my current weight. However, over the years (perhaps from
all the time I have spent in pools?), I have developed what I believe
is a sensitivity to chlorine. I find when I have been swimming in
chlorinated pools, I seem to get more and more tired. I believe that
the chlorine has an effect on me systemically. We do not have any
ozonated pools where I live, so that is not an option. The ocean is
not great for swimming laps. (Maybe I'll consider open water swimming
-- complete with wetsuit -- if I get a LOT more fit.) What I'm
wondering is if anybody knows of any method for desensitization to
chlorine? Would this be worth a trip to an allergist or a naturopath
or... or...??
Thanks.
My reply, as below is I feel almost as applicable to this post.
Quoted message said:It is usually not the chlorine per say that is the problem but rather
the chlorine by products, especially nitrogen tri chloride. In essence
the chlorine and bromine systems work by removing the organic and
nitrogenous matter from the water and getting rid of it into the air
by oxidising them into gaseous forms. Thus there then has to be a
second stage removal of contaminants whereby this gaseous material is
removed from above the surface of the water. This is a key element of
the process, which is not commonly understood and therefore often
poorly managed in many indoor pools. There is also tendency to reduce
ventilation to save on running costs and this can result in poor air
quality, right in your breathing zone. The pH of the water is also
critical to good chlorine usage. If you can "smell the chlorine" they
are getting it wrong. Is your problem only with indoor pools ?
Ozone (and many of the other methods) only really works if the pool
has a low organic load, which relies on either hardly any swimmers
(e.g. a private home pool) or very good bather pre swim hygiene, or
preferably both. Sadly in most public pools this is not well
understood or managed and so ozone does not succeed in reliably
keeping the micro-organisms at acceptable levels. This is why it is
not common, in the UK or USA, and when installed is often replaced
with a chlorine system when it fails the bug counts. Management's seem
to prefer to try to treat the symptoms of dirty swimmers rather than
deal with it at source.
Now you know why those "shower before you swim" signs are there. To
really be effective they need to be nude showers with soap, then put a
clean swimsuit on. In the words of the CDC a quick rinse over a
swimsuit really does very little. If the dirt, bugs and other organic
contaminants are effectively removed before the swimmers can pollute
the water then there is a huge reduction in the chemical demand and
this means far less needs to be ultimately removed by ventilation etc.
etc.
It is ironic that the reason most people "need" to shower after a swim
is because they do not shower properly before they get in and to
compensate high chlorine levels are used.
Thus either find yourself a well managed (in the chemical / hygiene
sense) pool or force / embarrass the management of your current pool
to get their act together. If all the people you see approaching the
pool are wet, but with dry costumes on (presuming it is not a skinny
dipping pool), then this is the best simple indicator that the pool
management is taking hygiene and chemical safety seriously. In some
countries (Iceland for example) proper showering is both the accepted
social norm and is rigorously enforced, to the embarrassment of some
tourists. They can use much lower chlorine levels without
micro-organisms being a problem.
I would add that poor indoor air quality has been recognised as an
occupational health problem for some poolside workers and chlorine by
products may be a trigger for asthma in those who already have the
condition.
